The burning times of intense turmoil between India and Pakistan don’t seem to end soon. And, one of Adnan Siddiqui’s latest Instagram posts proves just that. He recently posted a picture of his Mom co-star and late Bollywood actor Sridevi on her death anniversary. However, the image was met with a whole lot of criticism.
As a result, Siddiqui removed the picture. He then went on to issue an apology. He shared a photo that read “My bad,” his caption stated, “My last post was a memory post, remembering a co-star at a very personal level. But I do realise that it shouldn’t have been on a public forum. It, in no way, meant that I don’t support my country.”
It continued, “Whatever said and done, my country comes above all and I’m a proud Pakistani with all my heart. If I ever have to make a choice – it’ll always be my country first. But I understand, maybe it was wrong timing and I would like to apologise for that. Peace and love to all. As a mark of respect and keeping the sentiments intact – I’m deleting the post. PAKISTAN ZINDABAD.”
A great number of users came to his defence, with one stating “Why would you need to make a choice here? Your post was on a human and personal level and you need not apologise or remove it. This comment is almost as bad as some of those so-called Indian ‘celebrities’. People need to stop tainting everyone with the same brush. So disappointing.”
Another commented, “Human connections are above and beyond borders. Don’t delete, your post was about a person who you hold high in your heart and mind. Let it be.”
Many also wished the ‘Mom’ actor hadn’t “caved in”, one user posted “That was a beautiful post. If people reacted they were being ridiculous. Wish you hadn’t caved in.”
Siddiqui also shared a video of himself singing a Milli Nagma a couple of days later. He captioned the clip with, “Milli Nagma. Sohni dharti Allah rakhey, rakhey qadam qadam aabaad, qadam qadam aabaad tujhey… I had gone to the studio for a voice over today and while I was dubbing, I remembered that as a kid this was my favourite ‘tarana’. Felt so nostalgic, thought would record it too. I used to hum it a lot in my childhood and it still continues to move me.”
He went on to praise the lyricist and the singer of the Milli Naghma, “Masroor Anwar has penned these beautiful lyrics, it was composed by Sohail Rana and one version of it was sung by the legend Mehdi Hassan. There was another passionate rendition by Shahnaz Begum.”
Siddiqui said, “Every word speaks volumes about how much we love our motherland and every word is addressed to the creator to keep Sohni Dharti protected, injecting new life into the people of the country, even today.”
